Metal finishing Q&As since 1989
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I want to buy rhodium where do I get it
Ed. note: This particular thread about rhodium plating is more joke than serious; it's more silly than factual. You might prefer to start with our FAQ on Rhodium Plating and White Gold to get an overall understanding:-)
Q. I had my chain plated and every so often it needs to be replated. I also bought a bracelet in white gold but apparently it was ordered in yellow and plated and sold to me as white, since then I bought a new bracelet from a new guy in white gold "he swore to me it would not turn and it hasn't". Bracelets get a lot of wear and tear so it must be ordered true white not plated. My question is where do I buy this stuff rhodium so I can dip my own Necklace? I wanted to order a new necklace in true white gold same size and shape giving mine in for weight and the price was still huge in 3 shops . Why?
Is it feasible to rhodium yourself, cause I'm not paying some schmuck $25-$100 for plating if I could do it myself.
Everyone knows Gold is Old, if you want to make money sell rhodium to the public with instructions on how to do it and I will buy it .. Like the jewelry soap cans they give you to wash your gold would it be as easy as filling that with rhodium and washing off in the morning? My chain is 125 Grams rhodium plated gold and I wanted to exchange for true white same size shape weight and they wanted $1,000-$1,500 can you explain to me how they get this #.
Thanks Nick.
- Secaucus, New Jersey
2005
Rhodium Plating Solution
on
Amazon
(affil links)
Wal-Mart used to sell it, but it was in large gallon cans, and I don't think they carry it any more. You could ask.
Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Universal Plating System
on
Amazon
(affil links)
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask, but I think Wal-Mart stopped stocking those gallon cans of rhodium when they stopped selling gold nuggets by the bushel basket.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Nah, some of the stores still carry those cans - but not all of them, and you have to drive to them to check since they won't tell you over the phone.
Usually they are in the back hidden with the 10 oz and 6 oz packages of uncut diamonds and the less popular Picasso originals.
Compton, California, USA
I disagree.. I've seen the stuff in a couple of places.. once, next to the left handed screwdrivers, and another time, I saw it sitting by the bacon stretchers.
I believe this thread officially qualifies for a "silly" tag.
Marc Green
anodizer - Boise, Idaho
Ed. note: Yes, Marc. Nick came here to ask plating professionals for help and unthinkingly addressed us all as "schmucks". So it got silly fast.
Sorry, Nick. No hard feelings, but people started having fun :-)
Nicholas, any decent search engine will bring you up at least half a dozen links from this website alone about white gold/rhodium. "True white gold" is simply yellow gold with nickel or palladium in the alloy to make it appear whiter. In fact, it is not white but almost grey in appearance, and the Rhodium plating over the top will give it it's lustre and final appearance, and eventually this will wear thin and the original dull finish will show through.
From what I've seen in the past, $25 to $100 is nothing but then I've never had to get any of my jewellery plated. Depending on the wear on the item and your own body chemistry the plating will eventually wear off and you may have to have it stripped and replated. If you really want a cheaper alternative, Look for a silver chain. If you want to go the plating route, you will have to have it done professionally and you might be disappointed.
I'm going to look for those gallon cans of Rhodium when I visit the U.S. this year guys ;)
- Willenhall, West mids, England
I was in Macys on my last visit to New York and I'm sure there was some in the hardware section between the elbow grease and glass hammers.
Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
You guys are giving this gentleman all the wrong information. Wal-Mart only sold the clever Chinese made rip off rhodium, otherwise known as Explodium. Sales were limited on this as they had no repeat buyers so they got out of the biz. There was also a small rush on the anti rhodium compound implodium, but the stock kept mysteriously disappearing from the shelves. Their loss prevention teams could never find the dastardly thieves.
I would try your local "Rhodium Is Us" store located on most small town street corners.
Signed'
Just another Schmuck
Trent Kaufman
electroplater - Galva, Illinois
You know Trevor, I got one of those glass hammers - they are NOT what they're cracked up to be. My expectations were completely shattered...
Jim GorsichCompton, California, USA
I don't know anything about plating, but I swear I remember seeing "Godzilla vs Rhodium" at the drive-in.
Sheldon Taylor
supply chain electronics
Wake Forest, North Carolina
I hope you realize the melting point of rhodium is almost 3,600 °F. Unless Walmart is keeping their stores a little warmer than the last time I was there, the one gallon cans of stuff that costs $1500 per ounce isn't going to be liquid. And unless you've got the new GE liquid nitrogen fueled oven, you're not going to be able to melt and dip into it yourself either.
Drew Lepley- Akron, Ohio
2006
In regards to the answers to the rhodium finishing of jewelry. Nicholas was asking for help and all you people did was make fun of him. I think one person told him the truth about being able to use it in your home and that even had a sarcastic tone. Wow I thought this was a help page. When anyone of you have a question I hope you are never treated the way you treated him.
Thanks but no thanks.
Deanna
- Scranton, Pennsylvania
Hi cousin Deanna. No one is here to offend, and if you pose any question you will get helpful & respectful replies! Look at any of the 60,000 threads on this site and you will see that everyone is treated graciously, civility is always demanded, and each of the responders on this thread has helped people dozens or hundreds of times.
But Nicholas came to this site, where these plating professionals have generously offered their free & respectful help thousands of times and, without thinking about it, called all of us "schmucks". The response to that misstep was good-humored fun, certainly not spiteful, and much classier than "Go f### yourself" which is today's usual response.
Nevertheless, you'll see that people eventually did answer his question.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006
Regarding rhodium search- it can be found at home depot stores, Usually in the driveway toppings section. It goes under the name "Road-ium" on sale this week
14 bucks for 5 gallons- I tried it on a chain -- lousy fell right off and smells awful.
- miami Florida
I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for the "insightful" responses you offered to this question. Although I clicked on this link from google in hopes of finding an answer myself, I appreciated the good humor and the chance to share your wit with my co-worker. Thanks for the laughs!
- Aurora, Colorado
May 14, 2008
Thank you, Danielle. Glad to see you grasped the situation and weren't offended. I'm proud to say that the "regulars" who hang out at this site are a great group who are invariably friendly and respectful, as well as helpful -- but when the "shmuck" word caught their eye, they elected to have fun.
To answer the question of whether you can do it yourself, most of us who work in this field consider it a poor hobby because of the need for protective equipment, the environmental regulations, and the fact that you can't afford a lot of trial and error with Rhodium currently costing $10 thousand dollars an ounce (that part is not a joke!). But countless small jewelry shops do it, so a determined hobbyist certainly could. Such plating is not done by dipping an article into molten metal, but by using electricity to pull the metal out of a water-based solution. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
May 14, 2008
We all make mistakes so give this guy a break people! Smart people die in car accidents and sometimes they were at fault! Go get a life people!
- Houston Texas
October 16, 2008
Hi, Alan. Yes, the mistake was a trivial thing, but the "punishment" was of no consequence either, just a good natured put-on.
Post anything on youtube or any political comment forum and you'll be instantly met with hatred, shouting, and abuse. Instead, people had a small chuckle, not about the original question but silliness like glass hammers and Godzilla movies -- let's not be angry and in a dither over small potatoes and lighthearted fun. Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
October 17, 2008
Rhodium is one of the platinum group metals. It was priced as high as $10,000 an ounce and with the decline in precious metal prices after the financial crisis which started last month it has dropped to about $1,800 an ounce today. Rhodium is very difficult to get in raw form. Jewelers can buy one gram at a time from such stores as Kitco. On eBay it is offered for something like $300 a gram meaning that it will cost about $9,000 an ounce even though the purported market price is $1,800 an ounce. Electroplating solutions sold by jewelry suppliers are still at the $300 a gram level. Anything market "Rhodium" that is sold in one gallon cans for $25.00 is like someone selling 400 ounce bars of "gold" for $100.00. You get what you pay for and you obviously won't get real rhodium at those prices.
Bill Brownstein- Santa Monica, California
October 24, 2008
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Ed. note Aug 2020: Yes, it was down to $1000 an ounce when Bill posted, and back at $8500 again last month. Any gamblers who want to make or risk a fortune should become rhodium speculators -- the price volatility defies belief; it can quadruple and return in the course of a month or two.
If you have been able to weather the anti-shmuckness campaign and are still interested... Surepure Chemetals, Inc. - Florham Park, NJ actually sells Rhodium Wire. I don't believe you will readily find it in any other form - except perhaps at WalMart...
Roger Rickman- Tracy, California
October 24, 2008
Rhodium Plating Solution
on
Amazon
(affil links)
Thanks Roger. But getting from rhodium wire to a workable rhodium electroplating solution is a big stretch! It's probably a better idea to buy the rhodium as a rhodium plating solution. It's available from Davis-K, Legor, Rio-Grande, Cohler and others (google 'Rhodium Plating Solution').
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
October 28, 2008
Hi there, I too came across your site whilst looking for a D-I-Y solution to keep my wedding and engagement rings looking great. I wonder if anyone can tell me the approximate time that rhodium plating should last? I wear my rings all the time and they are subjected to normal wear and tear. The last time I had them plated it cost me £60 for the two and within about 6 weeks they had started to lose their sparkle and the yellow was beginning to peek through again. I can't afford to pay this every couple of months and it's really spoiling the enjoyment of wearing my rings as they look really shabby. Should I have gone for Platinum? I've thought about having the diamonds reset.
Sharon Boyd- Carluke, Lanarkshire, Scotland
December 7, 2009
Hi, Sharon. There is no definitive answer to this but 6 weeks sounds very very low. Please see our FAQ:
Rhodium Plating and White Gold.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
December 7, 2009
I got on this site to find out more about rhodium but all I found was a bunch of smart "A**" people! Why even waste your time and mine by trying to be cool by posting such stupid comments!
- Proctorville, Ohio USA
January 1, 2011
Hi, Bryan. Humor is in the ear of the beholder, some enjoyed it, some didn't. If the FAQ we immediately suggested didn't answer your question, it has links to dozens of threads about rhodium plating, and hundreds upon hundreds of answers. Good luck.
Reminder: "It's better to light one candle . . ."
With 60,000 topics in this forum, each with many postings, we naturally have thousands of unanswered questions, and it is clearly within your power to answer some of them. Maybe you should try that rather than restricting yourself to complaining about people who took a little break for fun after having generously & helpfully answering hundreds of questions themselves, usually with no thanks at all?
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
The first thing I noticed about this thread after deducting the 'schmuck' element was that physically trying to 'rhodium plate yourself' I believe may present some serious health risks and therefore I would strongly suggest this solution only be applied to other metals.
- North West England
November 15, 2011
Good catch Mat. I think Auric Goldfinger encountered a similar problem.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
While I came here hoping to find a solution, what I found was light hearted banter which occasionally had me breaking out into laughter. I did, in fact, get the answer to my question ... I can't replate my jewelry myself. But thanks for making the search fun. You guys were a riot.
- Henrico, Virginia, USA
August 28, 2015
Platinum which is 20 to 30 times as rare as gold is now about half the price and I believe the melting point of platinum is some 3500 degrees; very, very dense and extremely durable, and can be polished to a luster more brilliant than chromium; but it is not white, as such; it is immaculate. I do not think it ever tarnishes or wears out its shine. We in the western countries don't really value platinum, as gold is more recognized here. In the orient, after 50 years of marriage, a woman gets a platinum ring, not mere gold.
Raymond Dunnington- Beaverton oregon
August 11, 2020
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